


create something beautiful (only to destroy it)

by silentpoints



Series: delicate hearts & fragile minds [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Bittersweet Ending, Body Horror, Canon Compliant, Canonical Character Death, Character Study, Child Soldiers, Eye Trauma, Gen, Love Triangles, Multi, Nihilism, Poly if you squint, Possibly Unrequited Love, Retelling, Sad, Suicide, Team Dynamics, Team Minato-centric, Tragedy, Trauma
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-03
Updated: 2019-04-26
Packaged: 2020-01-04 05:08:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18336806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silentpoints/pseuds/silentpoints
Summary: Obito has a bad habit of being late.Eventually, his tardiness causes him to lose everything, because he issecondstoo late to stop Kakashi’s hand, which is enveloped in blinding blue lightning, from burying itself in Rin’s chest savagely, and blood drips from her mouth, eyes wide as life leaves her irises—Everything falls apart.(This is the story of before everything falls apart.)⌁Alternatively: A detailed retelling of the bonds of Team Minato before Rin dies on October 10th, and how it leads to everything that happens after.





	1. Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Important: This short-story is technically a prequel to my fic, [fragmented mind (move to the beat of your heart)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16789906/chapters/39404599), however it can be read as a **standalone**. 

**Present**

The masked man is back from the Kamui dimension, but there is no mask anymore, and the truth Kakashi has been suspecting, but doesn't want to accept, has been proven to be correct.

Obito is the masked man.

He never died.

He was alive.

He has been alive this  _entire_   _time—_

—and he is evil. 

"There's no mistake," Kakashi says, not-really-there. "That's Uchiha Obito."

He feels the emotions begin to cluster in the pit of his stomach, as if multiple kunai knives have stabbed him.

As he stares at the man in front of him, he can see no trace of the boy he grew up with.

The boy he grew to trust.

The boy he grew to care for.

The boy he grew to  _love_.

(That boy isn't here right now.) 

"All along... you were alive, all along?" Kakashi speaks, body tense and voice strained. 

Obito never drops his old teammate's gaze, mismatched eyes smoldering, so full of built-up, no-longer-concealed disdain, resentment, and hatred.

Tension grows on Kakashi's face, and he can't move his limbs as he replays his childhood in his head, trying to pinpoint what exactly caused this outcome.

_Where did things go so wrong? How...? Why...?_

He vaguely hears Gai and Naruto speak to one another, but he can't register their words, sweat dripping down his face and vision shaking with anxiety.

His heart is beating in his ears. It's too loud, and he can't focus on anyone but the childhood friend he thought had died, heroically, trying to save him from falling rocks. 

"If you were alive all this time... why _—_ why didn't you come back sooner?"

He feels like vomiting. Too many wounds are being re-opened.

It's too much pain, and he's too weak to take it. 

Obito finally speaks. "It's irrelevant, whether I died or not," he starts.

His voice is so much deeper than when they were children.

However, Obito sounds nothing like Kakashi always imagined he would have, had he the chance to grow up; had he been able to come back home with them from Kannabi Bridge that day, alive and well.

Instead, Obito's voice sounds radical, deluded and  _dead_. 

"Although, I suppose if you really want an answer..."

Kakashi's breathing quickens immensely, and he waits for the inevitable pain _—_

"It's because you let Rin die."

 ⌁

Rin's dreams were crushed by this revelation.

The team Minato-sensei had worked tirelessly to build had been destroyed, collapsing at the foundation.

It was a tragedy, through-and-through, and it all started with...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ✿ This is essentially a **retelling** of events that happened in the manga/anime, but in more detail. I'm really going to try getting into the characters' minds, and try to show their mental-state before _everything fell apart_.  
> ✿ Hopefully, using this, I can also clarify the timeline, since it is slightly confusing and there have been a lot of retcons.  
> ✿ I hope you enjoy this!


	2. Enter, Minato!

**33 YEARS AGO**

At age nine, the first thing Namikaze Minato thought when he saw Uzumaki Kushina was that her hair was beautiful.

He had been watching her quietly from his seat in the classroom, as she stood in front of them to introduce herself. Their teacher had explained that she had just transferred from an allied village, and then suddenly, she just yelled—

“I’m Uzumaki Kushina, dattebane!”

Pause.

All his classmates began to laugh and whisper, murmuring about how strange her red hair was.

(However, this was an opinion that Minato didn’t agree with, he realized, as he observed the long, crimson strands. He was immediately captivated by the color, unable to look away.)

The girl, Kushina, was evidently becoming flustered, and then again, she impulsively yelled—

“I will become Konoha’s first female Hokage!”

There was silence, and Minato blinked.

He didn’t know what got in him, but he stood up, holding a fist to his chest, smiling with his eyes closed.

“I also want to become a great Hokage, respected by all the villagers!”

Pause.

She didn’t immediately react. But then Kushina narrowed her eyes, puffing her cheeks out.

“You look too undependable and wimpy to become _Hokage_ ,” she mocked.

Minato blinked again, wondering what the feeling bubbling inside his chest was; he felt something similar to a fire, and in that moment, he was overcome with the desire to be around her.

⌁

For the rest of his Academy-career, Minato continued to be a silent observer of Uzumaki Kushina, as she went from being called “Tomato”, to earning the nickname “Red Hot-Blooded Habanero”.

She got said nickname after beating up all the boys that bullied her within an inch of their lives, uncaring of their abilities and ninja ranks.

Watching her fight fascinated him. Minato didn’t understand why he was so fascinated by her.

She was loud, rude and impulsive—she was the exact opposite of himself, who was quiet, respectful and analytical.  

Perhaps it was true that opposites attract?

⌁

**32 YEARS AGO**

When Minato graduated from the Academy at the age of ten, Jiraiya immediately took an interest in him.

Within months, Jiraiya went from calling him “a genius that only appears once every generation”, to “the child of prophecy”.

Minato would be lying if he said that pride didn’t overflow him when the Legendary Sannin took _him_ on as an apprentice instead of his teammates.

Over the coming months, he began to see Jiraiya as his father.

(And unbeknownst to him, Jiraiya began to see him as the son he never had.)

⌁

The newly-turned genin started to master Jiraiya’s signature techniques at a rate that left his teacher with a shine in his eyes, and together, they trained tirelessly.

One day, Minato was… _checking in_ on Kushina, hiding behind a tree so she wouldn’t get the idea he was stalking her or something. She was in the middle of a confrontation with about three boys, and said confrontation was starting to escalate.

Suddenly, Jiraiya snuck up behind him through the utilization of the Transparent Escape Technique, posing animatedly.

“Ah, I see you’ve picked up more than just my jutsu, boy—you’ve also picked up by love for spying on women!”

Minato quickly covered his teacher’s mouth with his palm, uncharacteristically blushing a red that could rival Kushina’s hair as he looked around to make sure said girl didn’t hear them.

Jiraiya shoved the boy’s hand away, grinning mischievously. “You’ve got it bad, eh?” he questioned slyly.

The genin shook his head, hands clammy. “I wasn’t spying on her…” he defended weakly.

Then, out of nowhere, the sound of combat was heard, and both Jiraiya and Minato witnessed the Red Hot-Blooded Habanero as she sent all her bullies flying in the air.

Jiraiya sweat-dropped. “I see you’ve developed my preference for violent women, too,” he noted.

He eyed Kushina for a moment.

“She’s a tomboy, and a real minx—but she’ll lose that baby fat soon and grow into a real beauty.”

He glanced at Minato, before frowning.

“You better get with her now or else you don’t stand a chance,” he said seriously.

Minato sulked privately, and Jiraiya smacked him on the back lovingly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ✿ Next chapter: Enter, Obito!  
> ✿ As for the timeline: Minato entered the Academy at age 9, and Kushina at age 8. That would be 16 years before Naruto is born. Since Naruto is almost 17 years old during the 4th Shinobi War, this occurs 33 years before Kakashi realizes that Obito is still alive in the previous chapter :)  
> ✿ Thank you for your support! I can't stress that I appreciate it a lot!


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